Truck haulage is widely used in open-pit mining and similar operations. It is also the largest cost item in the operation of an open-pit mine. Truck replacements, which are necessary from time to time, involve large amounts of capital. These and other factors have led mine operators to search for ways to improve the effectiveness of the truck-loading equipment fleet in order to lower costs and maintain a profitable operation in the face of declining markets and increasing, worldwide competition.
In the past, control of truck haulage in an open-pit mine was usually accomplished in one of two ways. In the first way, the trucks are given a fixed assignment or route for an entire working shift. In the second way, a dispatcher located at a vantage point radios instructions to each driver after he has dumped a load. Obviously, the use of a dispatcher is more desirable than a fixed route since the dispatcher may react to changing conditions occurring in the mine during the course of a working shift. For operations utilizing a relatively small fleet of trucks, the number of trucks is manageable, and a dispatcher may be successful in improving the efficiency of the fleet. But as the fleet of trucks grows to a number in excess of 25 trucks, a dispatcher is not capable of effectively routing the trucks in a manner which significantly improves the efficiency of the fleet. The dispatcher simply does not have sufficient time to make the necessary decisions which are a prerequisite to each dispatch order.
Recent advances in computer technology have made it possible to use computers to help the dispatcher make the necessary decisions. In fact, computers have been used to implement semi-automated dispatch systems for a fleet of trucks. To the best of applicant's knowledge, the computerized systems currently available rely on the manual inputting of data by each truck operator: the data is downloaded via a radio link to the dispatching computer, where it is analyzed, and a dispatch order is sent from the computer to each truck as it leaves a dump site. The system must rely on each truck operator to manually enter data, such as the current status of the truck, into an on-board device for transmission to the dispatch computer via a transceiver.
In applicant's copending applications, Ser. Nos. 604,739 and 717,042, an on-board device for heavy-duty, off-road trucks is disclosed which provides a full set of load hauling data for each truck in a fleet without the necessity of any intervention by the truck operator. In applicant's application Ser. No. 717,042, a fully automated dispatch system is disclosed. The dispatch system utilizes data gathered by on-board devices placed on each of the trucks.